The After
by madwriter223
Summary: -Kink Meme- Bilbo didn't reach the Undying Lands. He doesn't seem to mind too much. AFTERLIFE, Everyone is Dead, Angst, Fluff, and More Fluff!


**The After**

Bilbo took a deep breath, but the sea-air made his lungs seize up. He coughed weakly, and Frodo fussed with the blanket covering them both. It got mighty chilly at night. How long till they get there, he wondered.

Bilbo blinked slowly, watching as the moonlight danced across the waves. It was very beautiful, being on the water like this. Very peaceful. He closed his eyes and took another deep breath. He ignored the ache in his lungs, and slowly fell asleep.

Bilbo startled awake, drawing a gasping breath into lungs that were suddenly strong again. He sat up, eyeing the comfortable armchair and ashes in the fireplace. He was in Bag End. But how could this be? Had he dreamed getting onto that boat with Lord Elrond and Gandalf? Had he dreamed the slow, almost meek journey to the Undying Lands? The gentle sway of the waves, the soothing sound of the water. Had that all been a dream?

Bilbo sighed, rubbing a weary hand across his face. He paused in surprise, then slowly drew the hand back, staring at it in shock. Where was the wrinkled skin? Where were his liver spots, the slight tremble he couldn't seem to be able to shake? His hand looked smooth. Strong. Nimble.

Young.

Bilbo surged to his feet and raced to the bathroom, nearly throwing himself at the mirror in his haste. It was his face staring back at him, true, but it was a face he hadn't seen in over sixty years. Bright blue eyes, fair skin, blonde curls. There was no age anywhere he could see. No wrinkles, no grey hairs, no nothing. He was young again. Had he even gotten old in the first place? Had it all been a dream?

But then he caught sight of a dark blur on one of his hands and he glanced down. At first he wasn't sure why there was a pitch black stripe surrounding the base of one of his fingers. It almost appeared as if someone had painted the black on, but no. No, it was too dark, too dreary, too deep. It almost seemed to suck in the light around it, making the very air seem colder.

He stared at it, not quite understanding, until his finger throbbed sharply. The way it had before, when he had not worn it for too long. The Ring.

So this was his Hell, then? To remain in Bag End, alone and lonely, with only his old regrets to think of, with only his missing Ring to feel?

Bilbo slowly sunk to the floor, his eyes welling up with tears. He kept staring at the stripe of darkness, at that tiny missing part of him. His finger throbbed and Bilbo bit his lip. He was young again, true, but he felt just as tired as when he'd been old. Tired and stretched thin. Too thin.

Bilbo had no recollection of how long he huddled there, staring at the blackness around his finger. He didn't know whether it was hours or days or years. He just remembers sitting there in dark despair, the little band of darkness numbing him to the passage of time.

(It must've been centuries, now he reckons. Centuries of nothing more than the ache in his heart and the pain on his finger.)

He knew for certain what brought him out of the bleakness surrounding his mind, though. A rather loud and insistent knocking on his door.

Bilbo stared at the green wood, feeling rather perplexed. Wasn't he to be alone then?

The knock came again, sounding even more insistent and Bilbo flinched to his feet, walking quickly to the door. He had it barely half-way open when tattooed hands grabbed him under the armpits and lifted him into the air.

"Master Burglar!" A familiar face, oddly just as young as Bilbo now was, grinned at him.

"D- Dwalin?" Was this a hallucination? The Dwalin Bilbo knew didn't have quite that much hair on top of his head.

"Aye, who else?" The tall dwarf brought the hobbit closer, bumping their foreheads together gently. "It is good to see ye."

Bilbo blinked in confusion, then gave a shaky smile. Dwalin grunted and set him firmly down then marched past him and towards the kitchen. "Where is it then?"

"Where is what?" Bilbo asked, voice trembling. He closed the door and followed after him.

"Supper." Came the short reply, and the dwarf marched into the dining room.

Bilbo glanced at the empty table and felt oddly inhospitable. "I didn't really make anything."

"Now that's an oversight. They will be hungry!" Dwalin looked around. "Where was that pantry of yours again?"

Bilbo blinked, then rushed over to assist the dwarf.

The next to come was a dark-haired Balin and he enveloped the hobbit in a tight hug as soon as the door opened. "Master Baggins, my lad, so good to see you." Bilbo hugged back just as tightly. "You took a long time to finally cross over. We were worried you'd stay in limbo forever."

"I'm sorry." Bilbo murmured, his finger throbbing at the reminder.

"Don't dwell on it, what's done is done." Balin drew back and clapped him on the shoulders. "You look well."

"You as well." Bilbo wiped at his wet eyes. "The last I've heard of you, my friend, was that you reclaimed another lost dwarven city."

"Aye, we have a lot of those." Balin chuckled, then waggled a finger. "You did not visit me in Moria, Master Baggins." He chided teasingly. "I must say, I was rather disappointed I could not show off my magnificent kingdom to old friends."

"I do apologise." He couldn't stop smiling, though.

Balin smiled that pleasant smile Bilbo remembered so well. "Not to worry." He patted the hobbit's arm. "Moria did rather lose its charm, what with all those orcs and goblins around. They made a horrid mess of the place."

"Brother!" Dwalin called, sticking his head out of the pantry. "Let the lad close the door and come eat! The cookies are excellent!"

"You don't mind, Master Baggins?" Balin bowed slightly and went to join his brother. Bilbo quickly closed the door and hurried after him.

There was knocking on the door again, and Bilbo hurried towards it. If memory served him right, it should be...

He pulled the green door open and his face fell when no one was there. Perhaps he had been hearing things in his elation at having company. Then suddenly, two dwarves jumped out at him from both sides, their faces split in merry grins. Two pairs of strong arms wrapped around him, hugging him so tightly his feet left the floor.

"You must be Mister Boggins!" The younger of the two grinned cheekily at him, echoing his past words.

Bilbo looked from one to the other, his smile so wide his face hurt. "Kili! Fili!"

"At your service!" The brothers said in unison, setting him back down.

"You're both- But how can this be?" He stammered, while the two brothers loaded his arms with their weapons.

"Well, you finally crossed over, and we had missed you, so we came by." Fili smiled, then pulled him from the door. "Where's the food then? I'm starving."

Bilbo hung their weapons on the coat-rack, then closed the door. Next he led the two dwarves to join the others.

Bilbo could hear the next guests bickering before he even opened the door.

"Please stop fussing, I am much too old for that. I was the Chief Scribe in Moria, for Mahal's sake."

"Then how come you can't keep your braids in order then, hmm? Don't you want to look your best?"

A laugh. "Leave him be, Dori. If he wants to look like an unbrushed fox-kit, let him."

"I do not look like a- is it really that bad?"

"Here, let me just tuck this in to make you presentable."

Bilbo grinned widely, then opened the doors to greet them. "Dori. Nori. Ori." Each name came with a tight hug, and Bilbo felt his mood lift even more. "It is so good to see you all. And together."

"It is wonderful to see you as well, Master Hobbit." Ori smiled widely, pressing a thick book to his chest.

"We've brought you some gifts to spruce up the old place." Dori smiled, a packet of tea-leaves in his hands. "And fear not, I will make sure my hoodlum of a brother doesn't make away with your silver this time."

Nori raised a braided eyebrow. "You are never gonna let me live that down, are you?" He remarked drily, then presented Bilbo with a hand-knotted purple doily. "For you, my lad." He smiled with a wink. "Speaking of which, is the good silver in the same place as last time?"

Bilbo laughed and ushered them inside. He closed the door, and grinned widely when Dori marched towards the kitchen with a yelled "Who wants some tea? I brought a lovely blend."

He set the purple doily in a visible spot, then went over to help with the tea.

The next knock brought another set of guests. Bilbo opened the door and was immediately swept up into a strong embrace. "Bilbo!" Bofur beamed at him. "How I've missed your hairless face! How have you been?"

"I am well, Bofur." Bilbo accepted the friendly kiss pressed to his cheek. "You are as merry as ever."

"There are many reasons to be merry. You're with us now!"

"Aye, I couldn't agree more." Bombur ambled up to them, arms loaded with large blocks of cheese.

"I brought the best cheeses of my stock! Lets roast them, the share them with crushed cranberries. You have those, yes?"

Bilbo didn't know, but he nodded nonetheless, too happy for words.

Bofur placed Bilbo back on his feet and took the cheeses from his brother. "Let me get those, you say hello properly." He ordered and walked away towards the dining room.

Bombur grabbed Bilbo and gave him a strong hug, patting his back. "It's been too long, Bilbo."

The hobbit agreed with his whole heart.

When Bombur released him, Bilbo noticed the last Ur family member. "Bifur."

The dwarf smiled warmly at him and leaned down to bump foreheads with the hobbit.

Bilbo gasped when he noticed the dwarf's forehead. It was unblemished. "Bifur! The axe! It's-" Bifur grasped Bilbo's hand and pressed something against the palm. Bilbo looked and grimaced. "In my hand. That's slightly disturbing." He looked up at the dwarf. "Do you still have to carry it?"

Bifur nodded sadly and touched the black stripe across Bilbo's finger. "Our vices and scars never fully leave us." He said softly, and Bilbo nodded, his throat tight with emotion.

"None of that gloomy business!" Bofur proclaimed, and Bifur reclaimed his axe head. Bilbo closed the door behind them. "Come to the dining room, the party's just starting." He gathered the hobbit against his side and marched him to join the rest of the crowd.

The next time Bilbo opened the door, he almost didn't recognize the dwarf standing behind it. He'd remembered grey hair, not a blondish-red. The characteristic braids gave the dwarf away though.

"Oin? Is that you?"

"Aye, lad, young and sound!" Oin clapped his shoulder tightly and pulled him in for a brief, but tight hug. "And how are you? Any old aches or pains?"

Bilbo gave a sad smile and nodded. "A few."

"I'll give you a salve for those." Oin looked behind himself, then stuck his head back out the doorway. "Gloin, get your rear moving! I told you it was this door!" A voice called something back and a few moment later Gloin jogged up to the door.

"Master Baggins, finally with us!" He pulled Bilbo into a tight hug with a grin. "We have missed you greatly." He released the hobbit and grinned widely at him. "Did you meet my son? Isn't he a fine young Dwarf? And what a looker, as beautiful as his mother!" Bilbo nodded, remembering the red-bearded dwarf in Rivendell. Gloin went on. "And what a fighter, he wields that axe as skilfully as Mahal himself."

Oin huffed and thumped his brother on the back. "Listening to you going on and on about that Gimli of yours almost makes me wish I was deaf again." Gloin glared at him, looking affronted.

Bilbo chuckled, and closed the door. "Please, the food is waiting. Dori made cake and Bombur roasted some cheese."

Both brothers rubbed their hands together in an identical fashion. "Can't pass that up."

They ushered Bilbo ahead of them, and all three went to join the party.

The last to come was Thorin. Bilbo had honestly dreaded the encounter. He still remembered how angry Thorin had been and how betrayed he'd looked. Only some of it could be attributed to the gold sickness. Not to mention how Thorin had acted in retaliation. No, they had not parted on the best of terms. And even though he wanted it greatly, Bilbo wasn't sure how well their reunion would go.

Eventually the awaited knock came, and Bilbo hurried to open the door. Thorin marched inside as if he owned Bag End itself, barely even sparing Bilbo a glance.

"There you are, Hobbit. Must even your afterlife be a maze? I got lost three times before I found your blasted door." He took off his coat and tossed it onto a nearby chair. Then he stepped forward and wrapped his arms around Bilbo in an unbreakable embrace . "We've waited long enough for you, I reckon. It is good to finally see you again."

Bilbo buried his face in his old friend's shoulder and wept. Wept at his joy, wept at his loses, wept for his friends. He wept.

Thorin held him till the tears finally ran out, then even longer. The hobbit pressed as close as possible, his small body fitting comfortably against the dwarf's chest. Thorin didn't seem to mind.

END

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

_Written for the Kink Meme prompt:_

Bilbo sails with the elves. He is the only member of Thorin's Company still alive and wishes for some peace and quiet in his older days while regretting that his adventuring days are long over.  
But, after he falls asleep on the boat, he wakes up in... Bag End. He is young again and his home looks just like that one fateful night...  
And then there's a knock on the door and 13 dwarves pours in (like in the movie) to greet him, all happy and laughing because _finally, Mister Baggins, we were waiting so long for you to come and so first we eat and then we are going to find that pesky hidden treasure of the Goblin King! _  
Basically - for Bilbo Baggins Heaven means never ending adventuring with his band of merry dwarves. From one end of the Middle Earth to another, they will slay the orcs, get the gold and sing about it.  
Thorin, per tradition, arrives last.


End file.
